Black Tables
by Maybe Now
Summary: sequel to And Then You: The weight had become a familiar one, the weight of his head lying on her chest. She lay quietly, not moving, simply listening to his calm inhales and exhales.


**AN:** Well... I just couldn't stop. I finished **And Then You **with no intentions of a sequel, but it just kind of was born.

read and **review**, please, I want to know what you think.

special shout out to Bumble Beee- thanks for giving it a run through and convincing me that it was ok to submit this. thanks again =]

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please, if you haven't read **And Then You **prior to this story... you really shouldn't proceed to read this one until after **And Then You**.

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**Black Tables**

The weight had become a familiar one, the weight of his head lying on her chest.

Softly, he sighed in his sleep, and she felt, through the still-wet fabric of her shirt, his warm breathe skate across her collarbone.

She lay quietly, not moving, simply listening to his calm inhales and exhales.

A corner of her lip turned down, so accustomed to the ragged breathing of his silent sobs, but she'd like to think that she had come to memorize the sound of both ends of the spectrum

The moon cast interesting patterns onto the ceiling of his room, she idly noted, as a cool breeze wafted in through the open window across from the large bed.

She supposed she had always dreamed of this, in bed with a sleeping Sasuke in her arms, but this version seemed twisted, and instead of the joy she imagined, the only positive emotion she could muster was the pride and satisfaction that she was the one he could trust. Mostly, it just made her feel sad, sad for the broken boy she had come to love in her arms.

It had been almost two weeks since Tsunade had delivered the news to Sasuke in the hospital room, the news that would forever cripple his reality in ways he could have never imagined.

It had taken a week for Sasuke to absorb it, for him to allow himself to process the implications of his massive injuries.

Sakura had witnessed this realization, watched as the most composed and collected person she knew cried and broke into many pieces.

That had been almost a week ago.

She had stayed with him for the remainder of the evening, and by night fall, his eyes had shut due to his exhaustion. She couldn't just leave him there, so, using chakra to support his weight, she had slung his arm over her shoulder and half carried, half dragged him- amazingly he did not wake up, such was his exhaustion- to his room and place him in bed.

She hadn't thought, wasn't thinking, and slid in right beside him, holding him through the night. He had not woken up, and she had not slept, but she couldn't have just left him, because he had been alone for far too long.

When the dawn arrived, she slipped out through the window, leaving it open behind her so he would know that she had been there, and yet that she was respecting his pride.

From there, they had developed some sort of unspoken pattern. Sakura worked at the hospital in the morning, leaving at noon to administer treatment to a silent, stoic Sasuke, and then later, past midnight, she would walk to the Uchiha compound. The window to his room was always swung open, and gracefully she would jump in.

Shifting, Sakura unconsciously stroked Sasuke's hair. She hadn't known that Sasuke had the capabilities of crying so much, but she supposed that at some point, Sasuke had begun mourning the other tragedies of his life.

She wondered how long it had been since he had allowed himself to cry.

His face, his handsome face, the moon casting some of its soft light onto his features, accentuating the planes of his face….

Sakura was trying her best the collect the shards, hoping that every night her arms encasing him were somehow enough to hold him together.

She sighed. He looked so peaceful at night, while he was asleep… She desperately tried to think of something that would help him, that would help him get through this stage, but she supposed this had been the first time he had ever let himself grieve.

Her eyelids drooped shut, but quickly she shot them open again.

She sighed.

Sakura knew that she was exhausting herself. She had hardly caught more than an hour's worth of sleep for the past four nights she had spent here in Sasuke's room, due to her constant worrying over him and his situation along with ensuring that she left in the morning before he woke.

She was barely managing, catching naps whenever she could during her breaks at the hospital and consuming too much caffeine, but she couldn't help it. Every time he fell asleep against her, holding her, she couldn't stop herself from reveling in the feeling that he, for once in his entire life, felt like he needed her.

She knew it was silly, but she couldn't help but memorizing the way his body felt against her, the way he felt in her arms.

It should make her happy, because here they were, but Sakura's stomach always sank, because she just knew, she just knew that this wasn't going to last.

Her heart ached, because as much as she wished this wouldn't end, it needed to.

Sasuke would eventually pass this phase of his grieving and slowly return to his normal personality, meaning that she would again be pushed to the background.

She swallowed.

She would forever have this part of him, though, even if it was never acknowledged, and she would have to let that be enough. Never had she dreamed that he would let her this close to him.

The leaves rustled on the tree outside the window, and the breeze hit her again.

She studied the sky outside the window, trying to gauge the time. She reckoned that she had at least two hours until dawn, until she had to leave, and reluctantly succumbed the sleep lurking around her conscious.

* * *

She berated herself the entire trip to his house.

She was being so stupid, only thinking of him, it made her sloppy, that should not have happened, not at all, she was better than that, she had been trained better than that, she deserved to see those tear stricken, those not-yet-angry-but-eventually-angry, disappointed faces…

It was simple, well simple for her, easy process, what had she done wrong, at which point had she screwed up, and it was all because of her stupid, selfish need to be with Sasuke, if she had only slept a little more, then maybe—

Sakura, though moving, mulling, slowly almost ran into the door to Sasuke's house before it opened.

He had been waiting for her.

"Hey, Sasuke," she said, peering up at him and giving a small, tired smile.

He cocked an eyebrow, noticing her sad, worn down attitude, but did not say anything.

Normally, she noted as she followed him, who was even managing walking on crutches to look graceful, she was able to cover up any moods with a smile and some cheer when she was with him, but today, she was too tired and it had been too much.

As they entered the now familiar sitting room, which had been cleaned from its previous disastrous state, she tried to pick up her spirits, because she was here with Sasuke now, and being with Sasuke had always made her feel better.

She tried not to think about how badly her chakra was depleted.

With a sigh, she sat down. She knew that her face must look drawn and her appearance far from cheerful, and she began criticizing herself because aside from random visits from Naruto, this was the only interaction he had where he was trying to be okay and he should be around any positive force he could, stop moping, move on…

He looked better today, though, she noted as he sat down not so far next to her. His eyes were not blank, and his face actually seemed as if it could change from its usual stone slate.

Sakura closed her weary eyes, but the image of that girl, that young, wounded girl on the table ghosted into her sight and her eyes shot open.

Sasuke was looking at her, eyes studying the emotions always so present on her face, and a corner of his mouth turned down.

"My leg today?" he said slowly, and she reflexively gave him small smile, because he knew which procedure would be done today, they always alternated, therefore giving those words no real purpose other than conversation or a distraction and she started to feel grateful for it before feeling guilty. Because she should be comforting him, and he deserved her at her best, not like this.

Nevertheless, she smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, so if you could put your leg up on the couch, we can get started."

He nodded, eyes still searching hers, before watching as his hands grasped his left leg and lifted it onto the couch, a grimace marring his face.

He looked back at her, waiting.

With a small, concentrated frown, she fired chakra to her hands. She could normally push chakra out of her hands merely by the thought, but it resisted her due to its near exhaustion. Frustratingly, she could feel the energy slipping away, but she couldn't let Sasuke down, would have to find the energy somewhere.

Shutting her eyes for full concentration, she placed her hands on his emaciated leg.

She could feel Sasuke settling back into the couch, most likely propped up with his elbows against the armrests, for what should be a half hour procedure.

Not even five minutes in, she could feel the chakra leaving her hands sputtering, along with the sudden wave of intense exhaustion that had her slumping uncontrollably forward, her vision flickering.

Her breath came out in a whoosh as two hands quickly shot out to steady her shoulders.

Sakura blinked her eyes, clearing them, and her sight came around again.

Sasuke's eyebrows were shot up in concern before they straightened themselves quickly.

"Shit…" she exhaled, bringing a hand to her head.

At her curse, Sasuke removed his hands.

"….Chakra exhaustion?" he questioned slowly, almost quizzically.

"Dammit!" she hissed. "Shit!" The second time she failed today, god dammit she couldn't even relieve the pain in Sasuke's leg, this was unacceptable, if only she hadn't screwed up that one thing, then she would have enough chakra, then Sasuke wouldn't be hurting—

"It's ok," he said, cautiously and slowly again, studying her face.

"No, it's not ok!" she exhaled, frustrated, and she could hear the tears welling up in her eyes in her voice. She knew he would pick up on it too, and looked away from him.

"Sakura," he said gently, "what happened?"

She shot a surprised look at him, because although she knew Sasuke was observant, he rarely asked after her wellbeing, had rarely talked at all after all these years, never implied with words that he actually might care about her.

His eyes were still on her, waiting for a response.

"I just… at the hospital today… I had a patient, a girl… it was a simple procedure, so simple!" she bit out, grabbing her pink hair, roughly pushing it behind her ear, "And I don't know… maybe because I've been so… tired I missed something, but then she just… I had to tell the rest of her genin team… all I could think about was…. Oh god…. And now I don't even have enough chakra to help you, all because I couldn't… I messed up this one… oh god," she uttered, turning her head, hair shielding her face as the tears threatened to fall. She blinked furiously.

She almost stopped breathing when fingers smoothly but cautiously moved the pink hair blocking his vision of her face away, tucking it behind her ear.

She sent a shocked look up at him, briefly meeting his black eyes, but dammit her eyes were watering again and she couldn't let him see her like this, let him see this weakness, so she turned her head away, trying to blink away the tears—

In an eerily familiar gesture, his hands framed her face, turning it back towards him.

She bit her lip, looking into the concerned, gentle, soft eyes oh so close to her own. He let one hand fall, the other sliding down to gently hold her chin. She blinked the tears away, and suddenly the case was forgotten, and all she was thinking about was just how he was touching her, memorizing the feel so later, she could remember.

"Sakura…" he breathed, and she tried to gauge what he was trying to say, what he was trying to convey with his eyes…

His exhales were smooth and quiet, but due to their close proximity she could feel every single one ghost on her lips like a promise.

She looked down before meeting his eyes again, looking like he wanted to say something, but she knew he never knew the right words to say.

Mustering up all the courage she could, she closed the remaining inches of space between them before softly touching her lips dangerously near the corner of his mouth.

She could feel his sudden intake of breath, and as she backed up an inch, she saw as his eyelids fluttered open to gaze down at her.

She hovered cautiously, an inch away from him, as she tried to gauge his reaction.

His sigh tasted sweet on her lips.

Her heart and her hope grew as her eyes shut, responding to Sasuke's small movement towards her.

She didn't know, couldn't tell who moved those last fractions, but suddenly all she knew was that their lips were touching, their lips were touching, starting to move.

At first, he hadn't responded much as she applied light pressure to his lips, but then he began to answer, soft, tentative, like she would break.

Slowly, their breathing mixing, they backed away, and she wished that he would always look at her like that, with that expression, where he looked at her as if—

And he looked away, eyes clenching shut for just a moment.

There was a heavy pause before he turned back towards her.

"Maybe…" he whispered softly, eyes not meeting hers, "maybe you should go back to the hospital now."

He moved away from her, sitting further back into the couch, eyes hooded.

Her heart hammered, and she was growing confused. All she wanted to do was stay.

"Okay," she said slowly, trying to peer at his face, but he managed to shield it away effectively with his hair and a slight tilt of the head.

Sakura bit her lip, but stood up nevertheless. They had just been so close… and now he was the epitome of distance.

He did not look up at her as she crossed in front of him; instead, he held his face in one of his hands, almost as if he was training his head to look down.

With a boldness she didn't know she possessed (at least when it dealt with Sasuke,) Sakura leaned down and ran a small hand through his hair.

She bit her lip, a frown marring her face, and his head instantly shot up, eyes locking on hers, and she tried to understand the pain and guilt that met her eyes.

As she drew her hand away, it looked as if his hand jerked to catch it, but instead it fell, and the expressive eyes just looking at her changed back to their normal distant and brooding.

Sakura's confusion deepened, but once again began heading towards the hallway.

"I guess I'll… be going now…?" she said, the hint of a question in her voice.

His response was a slight flick of the hand, his face turning even more away from her.

Her eyes remained locked on him even as her feet led her closer to the hall.

Right as she was about to turn the corner, she saw him deflate, putting his head in his hands with a frustrated sigh.

.

That night, the window was closed.

* * *

Sakura didn't understand what was happening.

When she had seen him during the day, he had been especially reserved and quiet, eyes ringed in shadow, barely responding to anything she said, merely doing as the treatment dictated.

And for the past two nights, the window had been closed.

She felt like all the progress they had made had been completely washed. She wasn't even talking only about the progress since his injury, him turning to her for comfort, their brief kiss…

Sakura was talking about since he had returned to Konoha.

At least when he had come back, he would look at her.

Now, he would avert his eyes, his eyes ice and stone once more, forever looking in a different direction, even when she tried desperately to catch his eye.

But she wouldn't, no, she would not accept it. Sakura knew she was known as a stubborn girl, and she didn't give up, and she had never given up on Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't deserve to have someone give up on him. Not after all he'd been through.

And he needed her, she thought. She'd felt it, she could tell. He just—he wouldn't… she couldn't pin it down.

He needed her, but it seemed like he didn't want her.

But he needed her.

The night had an uncharacteristic chill to it as she stood, staring up at his closed window.

Sakura couldn't decide if he would be able to tell if she was there or not as she calmly walked up the side of his house, concentrating on logic and chakra control, on things she need not concentrate on so she could try to deny the sound of her thudding heart.

The handicap to his chakra network would most likely prohibit him from noticing her, but without letting the words form in her mind, the feeling in her chest wished that he would.

She had reached the window, standing perpendicular to it as she studied the inky black reflecting off of it.

Cautiously, ignoring the tenseness in her shoulders, she pulled the window open. Fluidly, she crouched on the sill.

Her heartbeat suspended for a moment as she located the onyx eyes staring resolutely at her.

Without a sound, she jumped down, landing balanced on the wood floor.

Sasuke sat on his bed, not slumped, but upright, against the pillows, on top of the covers.

The entire room looked untouched, as if she, Sasuke, and the breeze rustling in through the window were intruders.

Now that she was here, she didn't quite know what she wanted to say. On the way here, she had been determined, resolute, sure, but now, she only registered Sasuke's dark, soulful stare.

She took a step forward.

He hadn't moved for the entirety of time that she had entered and stood in the room, but at her small step, he rose, moving on his crutches to stand at the foot of the bed.

Sakura's brow knit in concern as she really looked at his face, haunted and haggard as accentuated by the moonlight.

He kept his eyes off of her, staring somewhere out the window and to her left.

He just looked so… tired.

"Sasuke," she began, staring up at him, trying to reach his eyes. "I… You—"

A hand strayed up, the signal halting her speech as well as the pained expression accompanied on his face.

"Sakura…" he said tiredly, "why are you here?"

She bit her lip, catching how he sagged against the crutches.

"I…"

She tried to think of the right words as she took in his tired state, what were the right words, she wanted him to just be alright…

"I want you to be alright," she said simply.

A smile ghosted on his lips.

"You need to sleep," he said, turning his head away from her searching eyes.

"So do you," she countered softly, her eyes sad for him.

Sasuke let out something like a short frustrated sigh.

"No," he said quietly, though through his teeth, and took a few more steps closer until if she reached an arm out, she could touch him.

His eyes were suddenly unfathomably deep.

Her heart fluttered, recognizing some of the emotions she'd seen after they'd kissed, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but then suddenly he must have thought better of it, jaw locking shut, the line of it looking hard yet refined in the pale light.

He looked back at her, eyes tight.

"You… should go," he said, rather firmly, if not for his hesitation before speaking.

He kept asking her to leave, but she really could not help but think he did not want her to. She gave one last, hard thought before grabbing onto her impulse and taking the last step in between them.

His eyebrows shot up at her approach, and he looked like he was fighting himself—he took a half-step backwards, but was met by the wooden back of his bed.

She heard him suck in a breath as she lightly traced the line of his shoulder with her hand before gently grasping the hair at his neck.

With one hand on the nape of his neck, she brought his head down closer to hers, she could feel him giving in, his eyes screwed shut as she brought his head down to kiss him on the cheek.

He gave a bittersweet sigh as she removed her lips and instead rested her head against his cheek, but he did not otherwise react.

"Sasuke," she whispered, eyes closed, absently stroking her fingers through his hair, "Let me help you…"

His head lowered, but it only caused her voice to reach his ear more clearly.

"You need to sleep…" she said softly.

He tiredly began nodding, but then stopped himself, shaking his head slowly instead.

"So do you," he said, mimicking their previous exchange.

With a slight smile, she opened her eyes and pulled slightly away.

"I will," she assured to his closed eyes, and his perfect mouth twisted into a frown, but it was all he needed as he, almost unwillingly, moved back to the bed and slipped under the covers.

He moved over, rolling on his side to face her as she quietly joined him.

His expression was deep and penetrating, as if memorizing the way she looked there, and she gave him half a smile.

Underneath the covers, she found his hand, giving it a squeeze as he intertwined their fingers.

He broke their gaze as his eyes shut, moving their joined hands until they rested on his cheek. She felt him take a deep breathe through his nose.

"Sleep," she said, brushing one of her fingers over his closed eyelids.

"Only if you do…" he murmured, and that was the last thing she remembered until the early morning sun woke her up, until she silently slid out of bed, giving a peacefully sleeping Sasuke one last affectionate look before jumping out of the window to go to the hospital, feeling very much refreshed.

* * *

Sakura's gate was brisk and her mood cheerful as she walked from the hospital and to Sasuke's house. Her eyes were open and clear—the six hours of sleep she had received that night had erased her weariness.

She hoped it had done the same for Sasuke.

Sakura couldn't deny that she was feeling a mixture of excitement and apprehension at seeing Sasuke again after the night they had shared together.

Sakura winced at how graphic that sounded when all they had done was, literally, slept together, but it had been so intimate, personal…

She couldn't help but smile at the memory of waking up to her hand still attached to Sasuke's, his usually stoic face untroubled where it lay inches from hers.

Sakura couldn't remember ever feeling more peaceful or rested than she had this morning.

But this was Sasuke, and Sasuke didn't like to show emotion. Sakura didn't really know what to expect when she arrived at his house, but as she stood in front of the door, her stomach fluttered at the possibilities.

She knocked.

Sakura couldn't help but feel a slight disappointment as the usual apathetic face greeted her at the entryway by briefly meeting her eyes before turning to walk down the hall into the sitting room.

Taking a deep breath and deciding not to lose hope, Sakura stepped into the house and followed him down the hall.

When she reached the now familiar sitting room, Sasuke was already sitting, tall and stoic, staring at the opposite wall.

Her stomach plummeted again. He wasn't even looking at her?

Again, though, she shook it off. Perhaps he was… embarrassed at his display of affection for her last night.

Mustering up the most cheerful voice she could manage—which wasn't that difficult, when she reminded herself of the utmost happiness she had experienced this morning—she greeted him.

"Hi!" she chirped, walking past him to take her seat on the couch.

He did not respond.

She frowned, but decided to give it one more try. She leaned over and kissed him swiftly on the cheek.

He was turning away at once.

"No, Sakura," he intoned flatly. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and his drawn face disappeared behind a curtain of dark hair.

Sakura slowly sank back into the cushion, an embarrassed flush rushing up her neck.

Her mind had become sort of blank, she felt, as they sat there, with no sound save for their breathing. Her heart felt heavy.

After some time, Sasuke's breathes became increasingly agitated. She watched with indescribable emotions swirling in her stomach, up her throat, into her head.

He sat up abruptly, locking hard eyes onto hers.

"Sakura," he said harshly, "I… We can't do this."

She could feel his eyes willing her to agree, but suddenly she regained her speech.

"Why not?" she said, full of conviction and honesty, because he was what she always wanted, and she knew that he was beginning to feel the same.

His response was a short sigh, an irritated hand running through his hair.

His eyes met hers again, though now she was determined for an answer, no longer shell shocked by his rejection.

His eyes, though on the surface frustrated, pleaded with her to understand.

"Just no," was what he gave her.

Her eyebrows furrowed.

"That's not good enough for me, Sasuke," she said, arms crossing against her chest. "What is it really?"

Sasuke turned his head away briefly, before it swung back to her once more.

His expression was harsh.

"Don't you get it, Sakura?" he sneered. "I just don't want you that way."

His blank eyes stared right through her.

It still stung, hearing those words, but deep within her, it felt wrong.

"Sasuke," she retorted, "That might have worked had you just returned, but I know you better than that now. Now what is it?" she pleaded, bending her head down a bit to attempt to meet his eyes, which had flickered away from her as she had spoke, "You should know that you can tell me anything."

Her eyebrows drew together as Sasuke seemed to crumple. He held his face in his hands, propped up by his elbows on his knees.

"What is it?" she asked again, softly, touching a tentative hand to his shoulder.

It caused him to look at her briefly, but it was too brief for Sakura to identify the multitude of emotions hiding in his dark eyes.

He only shook his head.

"Sasuke," she implored again, patiently sitting next to him.

He swiveled his head to meet her eyes, and his expression was mostly smooth, but belayed a hint of anguish.

"You…" he started, but then apparently thought better of it as he broke eye contact to watch his hands clench and unclench.

She bit her lip, didn't want to interrupt.

He was looking at her again, and his eyes were pained and sad.

"I need…" he paused, dropping his gaze to the ground, before looking back up at her with a strained expression, "I need to be somebody you can be proud of," he said quietly.

For a second, all she could do was look at him, watch as his unsure eyes flitted away with his sigh.

His words sank into her.

Softly, she smiled. "Sasuke," she whispered, and he quickly looked at her, his eyes deep, "I'm already proud of you." With no qualms, she gently took his hand.

Sasuke gazed at their hands with something like wistfulness in his expression before his eyes jerked away, almost with disgust.

"_How_?" he rasped out angrily, "How can you still?"

She opened her mouth to protest, but he beat her to speech.

"No," he uttered vehemently, "Sakura… you… deserve someone who can protect you, provide for you…"

His gaze was angry, frustrated, hinting at self-loathing, as he continued.

"I am none of these things, Sakura," he bit out. "You should leave."

He turned his head once more, and started tugging his hand out of hers.

Quickly she caught it, her fingers keeping him there. His shoulders tensed, but he did not face her.

"Sasuke," she said gently. "Don't tell me what I deserve—I deserve what I want, and what I want is you."

Slowly, he turned once more, eyes slowly meeting hers once more.

"I know you're broken, Sasuke," she said, "But I deal with broken every day."

She gave him a soft, patient smile.

When his eyes met hers, they were unfathomable, wavering, not cold, and with a pained, wounded lilt to it, as if every fiber of his being wanted to believe her, but for some reason, he was yet unwilling to give in.

Taking a final leap, Sakura leaned over and put her arms around him. His breath was shallow and warm on her neck. Absently, she stroked his hair.

They sat, for minutes, perhaps, until he responded.

"Okay," she heard him whisper against her collarbone as strong arms wound around her, "Okay."

* * *

**AN:** And there you have it.

I don't anticipate a continuation to this, I think here is where I leave it. But I hope you enjoyed it, at any rate.

For those that reviewed **And Then You**, thank you so much. Right now I'm at 29 reviews, and thats more than I ever anticipated.

**Please review**. I appreciate any and all comments.


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